Catholic Nuns light candles to honor the victims of extra judicial killings during a church-led rally at the People Power Monument in Quezon City, November 5, 2017. About 3,000 people joined the event with calls to "Stop the Killings." Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

MANILA — A lawyer assisting the families of extrajudicial killing (EJK) victims believes over 1,500 individuals may seek to participate in the International Criminal Court's (ICC) proceedings on former President Rodrigo Duterte's crimes against humanity case. 

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"Our ballpark figure is 1,500 victims," said National Union of Peoples' Lawyers' (NUPL) Kristina Conti, an ICC-accredited assistant to counsel.

Conti said this was based on the number of EJK victims who participated in the 2021 "representation stage" when the ICC was investigating Duterte's drug war. 

"We hope to surpass the figure this time," she said.

To qualify as "victim," Conti said they must provide the following documents: 

• proof of identity

• proof of victimhood

• kinship to the EJK victim

• proof of harm caused by EJK

The lawyer clarified that "victims" is another entity in the ICC trial, separate from the prosecution and defense teams.

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"Victims' primary responsibility is to air views, concerns, and interests, versus 'victim witnesses' [tapped by prosecution] who will have to testify facts," she said.

Conti said their "Duterte Panagutin" network will be opening up channels for EJK victims who plan to participate in the ICC hearing.

"We will help them process [their documents] so they can be presented before the court as participating victims," she said.

Conti also welcomed the ICC pre-trial chamber's decision to reject Duterte camp's move to limit the number of participating victims through stringent identification documents such as passport and national ID. 

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"In terms of efficiency, this is most welcome because it reflects the realities on the ground... It is reasonable and actually defers to government issued documents and so this will clearly reflect the realities on the ground," she said.

"The whole gamut of government identification, we think, would be sufficient to prove your identity," she added.

Conti earlier criticized the proposal of Duterte's defense team, calling it "out of touch, unrealistic, and anti-poor."

Duterte is still in the ICC Detention Center as he awaits the confirmation of charges hearing set for September 23.

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